Simon described the former pop star as an "incredible person" and praised her for her professionalism.

"My respect for Mel over the last few months has grown. I’ve really seen her for who she is as a person," Simon told The Sun.

"I went through this [losing a parent] myself, we’ve all unfortunately had to go through these situations with parents," Simon, who lost his beloved mum June in 2015, added.

Simon Cowell praised Mel B for her professionalism [Getty]

Mel B and Stephen split in March [Wenn]

The dad of one continued: "The way she dealt with it, she was so professional and we talked a lot about how she was feeling, whether she wants to come back to work and I said to her my own experience was I genuinely think it’s what your dad would have wanted, and I said the same thing about my mum."

"And I saw how she dealt with it and she was so on it and focused on the contestants when she could have been focused on something else.

"Then she’s had the whole thing to deal with the other side of her personal life, but it really made me think about her as a person which is what she’s achieved since she left the Spice Girls."

Simon then praised Mel for her commitment during The X Factor, noting just how much she has achieved in her career.

Mel B and Simon worked closely on The X Factor[Syco/Thames/Dymond]

He added: "As a working mum and how she’s managed to balance everything and I saw it first hand, the commitment she gave back to the show, to the contestants and what she does with her family and what she’s achieved over the years I don’t think she’s got the recognition she actually deserves. I think she’s actually an incredible person.

"I think it's interesting because she’s quite shy about saying what she’s achieved over the years and her role in the group and things like that but I think she is a really really special person and I really respect the way she’s dealt with everything.